The new investigation into the drowning of actress Natalie Wood has taken some interesting developments, with law enforcement officials now considering her death “suspicious.”
Wood died in 1981 after mysteriously ending up in the water while spending Thanksgiving on her family’s yacht with her husband Robert Wagner, as well as actor Christopher Walken and the yacht’s Captain, Dennis Davern.
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Her death was initially ruled an accident but in 2011 the case was reopened, as reported by CNN.
In a new statement, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said that they have new witness accounts that “portray a new sequence of events on the boat that night.”
“The statements from these new witnesses differ from the original version of events as related by previous witnesses, including the individuals on the boat,” the statement continued.
Just two of the new pieces of information they have is that one person says they heard a couple fighting and someone else claims to have seen a man and woman arguing at the back of the boat.
“Do we have enough to make an arrest at this moment? No,” the sheriff’s office added. “This remains a suspicious death investigation.”
It was recently revealed that Wagner has been labeled a person of interest in a new investigation.
According to Page Six, 87-year-old Wagner is being sought after by the Los Angeles County sheriff’s office for an interview regarding the circumstances surrounding Wood’s death.
Back in 2012, Wood’s death certificate was amended to read that she died from “drowning and other undetermined factors.” The cause for this was due to some unexplained bruising that was thought to have happened when she possibly fell into the water, but it could not be determined conclusively.
“As we’ve investigated the case over the last six years, I think he’s more of a person of interest now,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lt. John Corina said to reporters of Wagner. “I mean, we know now that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared.”
The detective originally assigned to the case believed Wood’s death to be an accident, as did Wagner and Walken. The witnesses’ recollections of the events have not remained consistent over time, however, which is where the need for further investigation comes from.
“I haven’t seen [Wagner] tell the details that match all the other witnesses in this case,” Lt. Corina added. “I think he’s constantly changed his story a little bit. And his version of events just don’t add up.”
When asked if he believed it was possible that Wood’s death was the result of murder, Lt. Corina replied, “I think it’s suspicious enough to make us think that something happened.”
Photo Credit: IMDB / Jason Hailey
